Members of Montgomery’s Conservation Advisory Committee appeared at the town’s February 6 board meeting to inform the board about the Drinking Water Source Protection, a New York State DEC program that helps municipalities study their water sources and develop protection plans.

The Montgomery CAC, a committee dedicated to ensuring environmental conservation in the town, has pushed the board to be more proactive in water protection for the past few years. During Brian Maher’s term as supervisor, the committee proposed a critical study of Tin Brook and other tributaries of the Wallkill River, but this fell through after residents expressed concerns over state mandates.

“People called and didn’t like it,” said Patricia Henighan, the chairperson of CAC, during a post-meeting conversation. “People were anxious about possible restrictions, even if they’re very small.”

The CAC recently applied to the DEC’s drinking water program, which currently comprises 64 participating municipalities and 39 new municipalities. If the town board approves the offer, a DEC technical assistant would work with the CAC over 12 to 18 months to identify and analyze the town’s water sources. Following this procedure, the CAC and TA provider would develop and implement protection plans for said sources.

“Through the DEC, they want to provide an assistant and expert to go over our whole water system, all the aquifers, and all the water bodies that are supplying the aquifers and the wells to see what’s the best way to remediate and or protect those areas,” said Ilene Castaldo, a CAC member, during the meeting.

Henighan stated that the DEC approved the town for the program, but the board must accept the offer by February 23 if it wishes to move forward with the procedure.

“They also included in here a section where you can opt-out. Of course, they’d rather people not do that, but they left that as an alternative,” Henighan said during the meeting.

Town Supervisor Steve Brescia asserted that he and the board will look into the program and make a decision by February 21.